FINALLY!

I know that sounds really impaitent but we have been waiting a long time to hear the news that DAVID and EMMA are ENGAGED! David proposed to Emma last weekend after a scavenger hunt that sent Emma to places that have been special to their relationship throughout these past 6 years! The hunt ended at David's apartment with roses, dinner, and a proposal. She said yes and we couldn't be more excited for them.

The story of their relationship is actually quite remarkable. They met in Germany in the winter of 2002 while they were both in the same study abroad program. She was orginally from California but going to school at Mount Holyoke in Massachutes. David was going to school at the U of M-Twin Cities. They hit is off right away and I actually got to meet Emma while we were visiting in Germany and instantly loved her. She had (has) such a great spirit and I knew she would be good for my brother!

They continued their relationship after their abroad program living half a country away. After graduation, Emma returned to California and David worked in MN. A little while later Emma got a job in San Francisco and David followed living there for about a year until he started law school in Washinton DC, now living on seperate coasts but always kept a strong relationship. David then transfered to Loyola Law School in LA and they were again and have remained in the same city.

As I noted in a previous blog, they will be apart once again starting this summer while David is in NYC but there is no doubt that they know how to do the long distance relationship deal. Who knows where they will end up after that but I have a feeling that California is at the very top of that list!

They tell us that they are looking at 2010 or 2011 for the wedding and it will most likely be in California. I just can't wait to get a date on the calendar! Although we already consider Emma part of the family and an official Auntie to Anna we look forward to making it official and celebrating the big event.

Congratulations David and Emma! Looking forward to wedding plans in the future and to your visit in a couple of weeks! Love you!

Tina (Chad and Anna too!)

Cousin Fun!

This last weekend was another packed full of fun times. We had given our niece and nephew "gift certificates" for their birthdays last year that gave them the option of a fun thing to do around the Cities along with a sleepover at our house! It worked out last weekend for them both to come over and stay at our house and they both picked the water park as their activity!


Plans had to change when not everyone was feeling 100% but we still ended up having a pretty fun day! Instead of the water park we loaded up the three kids in the car and drove downtown. Anna always gets a kick out of being where Daddy works and all the tall buildings. And they were more than excited to ride the light rail train! We took the train out to the Mall of America. I know - pretty crazy to take three kids to MOA on a Sat afternoon in Feb but it all worked out fine.

We had lunch and then headed to the Park at MOA aka Camp Snoopy. It was crazy busy and the lines were so long that we didn't get a whole lot of rides in but the kids had a blast. Had some more fun on the train on the way home and then to top off the night the kids got in their swim suits and enjoyed their own version of the water park in our bathtub.

The weekend went by fast and Anna so enjoyed the time with her cousins!

Tina

A Yearly Event?

After spending 3 nights and 4 days with 6 other woman - would I do it again? ABSOLUTELY! Our girls weekend trip to Chicago was filled with so many new and fun experiences! We met some great people along the way and did A LOT of shopping! First I will cover the things that we DIDN'T do while in Chicago and then get into the fun times and lessons learned!

What I didn't do in Chicago!

• I never saw the lake! It was so close but yet so far away. Can't believe I went to a city on a Great Lake and never even saw it. I did see the Chicago River though and that technically flows out of the Lake - so does that count?

• I didn't step foot in any museums! And this is the kicker - they were all FREE! There just weren't enough hours in a day!

• I didn't go to the top of any tall buildings. In fact, we only even saw the Sears Tower once during the whole weekend. It was always covered with buildings. Jill and I almost went to the top of the John Hancock but decided the line was way too long and our $12 was better spent on lip gloss. Which Sherri made sure to inform us would last way longer than our trip to the top and back! :)

• I didn't eat any pizza or hot dogs! I know - sacrilegious. We did eat at a pizza place one night but I chose the meatball sub instead and boy was that good.


• I didn't see Oprah!

So, you would think with that list of things I didn't do that I didn't have any fun! That couldn't be further from the truth.

So, what did we spend our weekend doing?

Shopping, Shopping, and More Shopping! We enjoyed a full day on State Street and a full day on Michigan Avenue and it was wonderful. It had been a long, long time since I had spent time browsing through stores with girlfriends! We tried on clothes, gave each other advice and just had fun. I did come to some great realizations too!

• I am NOT too old to shop at Forever 21 or Charlotte Rouse and both of those store have great jewelry that is inexpensive!

• I was in search of the perfect jean and I found it in Gap - Long and Lean jeans. All Sherri had to say is that they were Oprah's favorites and I tried then on! I love them. Fit perfectly which is so hard to find in jeans! I also learned that Gap has great hipster underwear also thanks to Jill!

• I learned that every woman should go to Nordstrom's and get a bra fitting. They say that 8 in 10 woman are in the wrong size and I was one of them. Amazing what a difference that makes. Again, Jill saw this on Oprah which got us there to try it.

We very much enjoyed a performance of WICKED! I love musicals and I would have to say that this is one of my favorites if not my most favorite. The music was great, it was full of humor and the story was enlightening. I have a whole new respect for the Wicked Witch! And right before the show we had a sweet grandpa buy us two rounds of drinks! We so enjoyed talking to Gus! We got our picture taken with him too!

We spent our Saturday night into Sunday morning singing KARAOKE! I love singing and do a lot of it in my car or with my PS2 Sing Star game. And I love signing along to others doing karaoke. We found a great place in Chi-Town to do just that, Louie's Pub. We met and sang with some fun people and just really enjoyed ourselves. The memories from that night are never ending.

I need to thank Jill for pulling us all together to take this trip. It was great to spend fun times with her and get to know Sherri and Marlene better! And it was so great to meet and spend time with Lindsay, Corrine and Jill's "sister" Emili. Great times ladies! Looking forward to our next girls weekend!

Past or Future?

Joe Soucheray on AM 1500's Garage Logic show put it perfectly yesterday. The Democratic Party and the people of the US have one choice to make - Do you want more of the past or would you like to look to the future?

He was referring to the choice between Clinton and Obama and I think he is exactly right. Clinton is in deep with Washington and the Democratic Party. She has been in the trenches for a long time now, was part of the presidency for 8 years. When you hear her speak it is the same political rhetoric. I almost tune her out because I have heard it all before. I would love to have a woman as our president and think that many women could do a wonderful job - but sorry, I just don't want this woman!

Let's look to our alternative - Barack Obama. He is the future of the Democratic Party. He is young and fresh! He is what Bill Clinton was in 1992! The similarities are very apparent to me. I was only in high school when Clinton started his campaign for presidency but I remember being captivated. In fact, he is probably the reason I am a democrat to this day. He spoke and I listened. He could relate to the common person. Gosh, he even played the saxophone. :) He was a breath of fresh air after 12 years of Republicans in office.

When Barack Obama speaks - I want to listen! He brings life back to politics. I know it is now cliché but he does bring change. He brings hope that we can have a better America, that we can bring an end to our war with Iraq, and that the people that live in this great country have a voice.

At least I hope we can have a voice! As I was reading about the nomination process for the Democratic convention I was a little discouraged. This whole super delegate deal "could" take away that voice. As I read it, Obama could take a majority of the delegates, win the popular vote, and win more states and still not get the nomination. In the end the Supers could decide this for us. And you know who those Supers are? They are the people in Washington - senators, representative, past presidents and vice-presidents. The ones that I would include in the "club" with Hillary. The ones that have a loyalty to the Clintons.

So, in the end if it comes down to the Supers, I hope that they will ask themselves and others the big question - More of the past or a new future? I hope they pick the future!

Tina (I should note for Chad's sake that the opinions expressed here are mine and mine alone!)

Video of the Week

This is pretty cool and interesting!

Change of Plans

This weekend was supposed to be spent at a hotel with our good friends, Joe and Sarah and baby Kate! We were going to enjoy the water park and probably some good card playing! But instead we are spending the weekend at home and had to cancel on them!

Chad and Anna tested positive for strep throat. So, far I have escaped it but I won't be surprised if my turn isn't coming soon! So, instead of having fun we are cooped up at home waiting for the 24 hour contagious period to be over and for everyone to be feeling 100% again!

We haven't had to deal with strep before and we quickly learned that it is no fun! And trying to give a 4 year old medicine that I personally think tastes terrible is really no fun. We struggled and struggled, shed some tears, wished we had arm and leg restraints and begged, bribed and bargained to try and get her to take the medicine. I took it back to Walgreen's to get a flavor shot in it to make it test better. It was still a no go. I called the Dr and got a different prescription that was supposed to taste better. Still not happening. We mixed it with juice but that wasn't tricking her. Finally Chad tried mixing it with chocolate milk and she couldn't resist. Luckily the chocolate flavor was enough to mask the terrible medicine and we have a girl on the mends.

Now that we have that down, we are ready to all be feeling better and be able to get out of this house for some fresh air. I hear that strep and other terrible things are going around so hope you all are staying healthy!

Tina

New York, New York

Since my brother graduated from high school I have lived a little vicariously through him at least when it comes to travels. Chad and I have always loved to travel and have gone many places but I was just realizing that many of the places we have gone have been spurred by friends or family members that have moved to those places. There are so many benefits to traveling someplace where you know someone that lives there. You may get a free place to stay or a free inside travel guide!

As I heard the news that my brother got accepted into New York University for his "masters" in tax law, all I could think about was how I finally had a reason to get to New York City! Well, I also was very excited that he got into his #1 choice - Congrats David! It made me reflect on the places I have gone to see him and it puts a smile on my face thinking about all of the places and experiences he has had in the 8 years since high school! (WOW - 8 years already! That does make me feel old!)

Germany 2002- While Chad couldn't come with on this trip, I had a great time in Germany with my mom and dad! It was my first and only (to this point) trip to Europe. David was studying abroad there and met Emma on the same program. They are just about to celebrate the 6th anniversary of when they met and went out for the first time!

San Diego/San Fran 2004 and San Fran 2005 - He moved there from MN to work for a Fischer Investments which is where Emma was working. The whole family went out to San Diego for my cousin, Brian's wedding and then all rode together in a van up the coast to San Fran and spent time with David and Emma. Then the following summer my mom and I went and spent a long weekend again in San Fran! I loved that city!

Then David moved to Wash DC to start his law school program. We didn't get there to visit while he was there but have been there many times and have enjoyed the hospitality of my cousin Angela and her family!

Next David moved to Los Angeles to continue his law school at Loyola. We looking forward to visiting him and Emma there this May where we will get to witness his graduation also!

And now, at the end of the summer, he will take his next cross country trip to spend a year in New York City! And I am excited to get there too. I have always wanted to go and see a Broadway show on Broadway, see the sights, and most importantly - get my face on TV for the Today show!!!

More importantly than the opportunity to visit NY is the fact that I am very proud of my little brother for all that he has accomplished and how hard he has worked to get there. You deserve all the successes you have experienced and will in the future! I love ya!

Tina